TV-Loonland’s Penelope Set for CBeebies

British broadcaster BBC has acquired full TV rights to TV-Loonland’s is animated show, Penelope. The series of 54 five-minute cartoons will begin airing on digital preschool channel CBeebies in the spring of 2009. TV-Loonland is handling multi-territory distribution for the program, a co-production of Nippon Animation, NHK Enterprises and Shirogumi Inc. Other broadcasters to pick up Penelope include ABC in Australia, France 5, JIM JAM in Italy, MNET in South Africa, DRTV in Denmark, TV2 in Norway, RUV in Iceland and MTV3/Channel Juniori in Finland.

‘I am delighted to welcome this charming animation to CBeebies,’ remarks Kay Benbow, head of CBeebies production, animation and acquisitions. ‘The beautiful design and gentle flow of the stories will work perfectly for our younger viewers.’

Based on the popular Gallimard books by Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben, Penelope chronicles the daily adventures of sweet-natured, 3-year-old chatterbox Penelope, a blue koala bear who has an insatiable curiosity about all things around her. Through constant questioning, the series helps children develop a sense of logic and anticipation, while encouraging them to explore action and consequence through the use of direct speech, expression and comprehension.